Elections show how far Iraq has come

When the history of the U.S. war in Iraq is written, Sunday’s parliamentary election may well provide the final chapter. The national vote in which minority Sunni Arabs cast ballots along with Shiites and ethnic Kurds could be a marker for the end of the seven-year war, although not for the end of the nation’s sectarian conflict.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly said there are 352 seats in Iraq’s parliament.

Thirty-eight Iraqis died in Baghdad election violence, a relatively light toll compared with the bloodletting of recent years; tens of thousands of Iraqis have died since the war began in March 2003. Once the election day rockets and bombs cleared like some sort of morning weather front, Iraqis turned out in large numbers to cast their ballots -- about two-thirds of the country’s eligible voters in all. A successful election neither justifies the original U.S. invasion, which was conducted on false pretenses, nor does it guarantee Iraqis a democratic government, but it is positive news for President Obama, who plans to pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq in August and to withdraw the rest of U.S. forces by the end of 2011.

Although sectarian struggles were key factors in the campaign, and undoubtedly many voters cast ballots along ethnic and religious lines, Iraqis should take heart in the fact that their own security forces capably provided protection for the overwhelming majority of the 10 million voters who once again opted to seek political power through peaceful means. They should celebrate the fact that Sunni Arab parties chose to participate rather than boycott the election as they did in 2005.

No party is expected to win a majority of the 325 seats in parliament, so Prime Minister Nouri Maliki will continue as head of a caretaker government as the party that wins the most seats tries to form a new coalition government. If the last parliamentary election is any indication, negotiations could take months, leaving a dangerous power vacuum that insurgents surely will try to exploit to refuel sectarian tensions. It is in the interest of all Iraqis, therefore, for the parties to make the necessary compromises and alliances to put a new administration in place as soon as possible.

Iraqis want and deserve control over their own future. We hope that a new government will strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law while providing new opportunities to resolve some of the country’s long-standing problems. Iraq has yet to decide, for instance, who will control the Kirkuk region, how to apportion the country’s precious oil revenues and how much authority will rest with the central government over its divided regions. The United States should offer counsel when asked and, otherwise, stand back and wish them wisdom in governing.